Hafsh bin Umar al-Basri, Scientist and Hadith Expert with Disabilities

 

Hafsh bin Umar al-Basri, Scientist and Hadith Expert with Disabilities

His full name is Hafsh bin Umar Abu Umar al-Dharir al-Akbar al-Basri. The name al-Akbar is to distinguish him from Hafsh bin Umar al-Ashghar who is also a trusted narrator, as well as an expert in recitation of the Koran. Al-Basri is a citizenship identity which shows that he is from Basra. Since childhood, he has been blind.

Even so, this blindness does not make him 'blind' scientifically, instead he learns and eventually becomes an influential figure in the world. The list of teachers and students is not small. According to Ibn Hibban, as quoted by al-Mizzi, he is a group of scholars who master various disciplines; inheritance (fara'id), astronomy (hisab), poetry (syi'r) and ancient Arabic history (ayyam al-nas).

The question is, how did he learn if he was born blind? Who helped him?

Hafsh bin Umar studied with several people outside the city of Basra, even though he had more teachers than his hometown. Among his teachers were Abi Syaibah Ibrahim bin 'Uthman al-'Abasi (Kufa), Abu Hamzah Ishaq bin al-Rabi' al-'Atthar (Basrah), Bisyr bin al-Mufaddhal (Basrah), Bakr bin Hamran, Jarir bin Hazim, al-Harith bin Ziyad al-Azdi, al-Harith bin Sa'id al-Asadi al-Kufi, Hisan bin Ibrahim al-Kirmani (Basrah), Hammad bin Zaid (Basrah), Hammad bin Salamah, Hammad bin Waqid , Salih al-Mirri (Basrah), Abdullah bin Hisan al-'Anbari (Anbar), Abdul Aziz bin Muslim (Basrah), Abdul Warits bin Sa'id (Basrah), 'Ubaidillah bin Shumaith bin 'Ajlan (Basrah), ' Adi bin al-Fadhl (Basrah), 'Uqbah bin Abdullah al-Asham (Basrah), 'Ali bin Nuh, 'Imran bin Khalid al-Khuza'i, Fadhalah al-Syahham, al-Mubarak bin Fadhalah (Basrah),

There are two interesting points that can be drawn from the list of teachers of Hafsh bin Umar above. First, Hafsh bin Umar maximized the potential around him. Basrah is the center of scientific activities from all fields; mainly hadith. There are many hadith experts in the city. Hafsh bin Umar al-Basri al-Dharir did not waste it. He studied with the scholars of hadith experts in Basra. Master their knowledge and become the successor to the relay network of narrators of Basrah.

Non-hadith sciences such as inheritance, astronomy, poetry, and ancient history are disciplines that Hafsh bin Umar is also involved in. After mastering the myriad of knowledge of Basrah, he visited Kufa, Anbar, Wasith, and Ashbihan. In the field of hadith, 17 of the 31 or equivalent to 54% of the teachers are residents of Basra, their own neighbour.

Persons with disabilities can emulate this by utilizing all their personal, social, and structural potential to develop themselves. As Hafsh bin Umar al-Basri did.

Second, the efforts of Hafsh bin Umar to succeed in becoming a recognized figure in the fields of hadith, inheritance, astronomy, poetry and ancient history. In the discipline of hadith, Abu Hatim had witnessed that Hafsh bin Umar al-Basri narrated most of the hadith from his memorization (not writing).

This is very hard work. How did Hafsh bin Umar start studying? Does he know writing? How do people who are born blind learn? Who supports its success? In simple terms it may be answered, that what God wills must happen. And we ask about a process is not something that is forbidden if it has benefits for us as believers.

If a person with a disability like Hafsh bin Umar is able to become a scientist, a qualified and respected expert on hadith, can other people too? Of course. Then, we can ask the next question, did the government at that time provide services for people with disabilities?